Distraction
by kewljamz
Summary: Hermione & Jayden [Oneshot]


Hermione Granger was stressed. Actually, stressed was just an understatement; no words can even begin to express how taut she actually was. N.E.W.T.s were in exactly 48 hours and she was doing everything in her power to finalize and recapitulate all of the notes given throughout the whole year. For most of the seventh years, N.E.W.T.s were like any ordinary tests where a majority of the students defer till the last minute and are forced to improvise when it came to giving the correct answers. But Hermione Granger was no ordinary student; she was known for being the brightest witch of her year so it was no surprise that she was making the N.E.W.T.s a big deal and felt the need to nag everyone around her to profusely study as much as she did.

Hermione was busy jotting down her messy notes into a new parchment when Harry walked through the portrait hole.

"Mione! Are you _still_ stressing out about N.E.W.T.s? Come on, we need to get you out of here before you fry your brain from over studying." Harry was truly concerned about his best friend; he hated seeing her so stressed, plus he knew Hermione was more than ready for her N.E.W.T.s and was just psyching herself out. Hermione tried to reason with Harry but his mind was already set to getting her out of the common room. Harry gently pushed Hermione out of the portrait hole into an unknown direction.

"I'm doing this for your own good, Mione." Just like that Harry closed the Gryffindor portrait hole, leaving an agitated Hermione no choice but to follow his advice.

_Maybe Harry's right. I have been studying way too much and I think my head is starting to hurt. _Hermione was pondering her thoughts when someone bumped into her, causing her body to hit the marble floor of the dark corridor.

"Ouch..." Hermione said as she rubbed her throbbing elbow.

"Woah there, are you okay miss? I'm so sorry about that!" The stranger offered his hand, helping Hermione up to her feet. Hermione was about to bite his head off when she looked up and was immediately mesmerized by his chestnut brown eyes. The mysterious stranger carried a smirk while his eyes were filled with mischief.

"It's okay, don't worry about it. I was actually lost in my thoughts to have noticed you running through the corridors." Hermione gave him a shy smile and offered her hand for a handshake.

"I'm Hermione Granger by the way."

"Wow, really? THE Hermione Granger, brightest witch of our age and Head Girl. Not to mention, such a natural beauty." Hermione's face turned beet red at his last comment.

"What may I owe this pleasure of even being able to hold a civilized conversation with Miss Granger?" The two strangers walked together through the empty corridor, no destination in mind.

"Before I tell you why I've been aimlessly walking around, I believe it is your turn for an introduction." Hermione said with a playful tone.

"How very ungentlemanlike of me! My name is Jayden Nightingale and this is my first year at Hogwarts. I am a current seventh year in the Slytherin house."

_Of course! That's why I didn't recognize him; he belongs to the Slytherin house. I just hope he doesn't befriend Malfoy and become a total tool. _Hermione was taken out of her thoughts when Jayden cleared his throat.

"So are you going to answer my question now, Miss Granger?" This time, Jayden looked at her with curiosity.

"I was actually doing some final reviewing for the upcoming N.E.W.T.s, but then my best friend Harry insisted that I take a break since I've been practically studying since dawn." Hermione spent her whole Saturday preparing for the N.E.W.T.s and missed out on Hogsmeade with Harry and Ron.

"I guess Harry thought it useful that I take a walk, clears the mind you know?"

"Your friend is right; I can see the bags under your eyes. I think it's a good idea to just walk around with no destination in mind; just let your mind free and wander." At his last comment, Jayden closed his eyes; he could feel Hermione's gaze at him. He just smiled at her, not a smirk but a genuine smile. She couldn't help herself but stare at him; his dark brown hair was gelled up, putting it into a windswept state. She wanted to just run her hands through his hair and surprisingly give him a hug. He was different than most of the guys in Hogwarts; he actually took the time to have a conversation with her instead of asking her for help on homework or teasing her for her scary brilliance.

"I'm sure you know enough about me from what people have told you...So tell me about yourself Jayden." Hermione was curious about this one; the more time she talked to Jayden, the more she wanted to get to know him.

"Well...there's not really that much to tell. I decided to come to Hogwarts because my best friend insisted I come with him. He wanted to get to know his family history and said Hogwarts was just the right place to do it."

"Wow, you just left your whole life to accompany your best friend?" Hermione was bewildered.

"In all honesty, I didn't have an actual life back home. Let's just say...I was a horrible influence."

"Really? From what you displayed today, you seem like a polite young man." Hermione was slightly offended when Jayden started to laugh hysterically. Jayden noticed immediately and stopped laughing.

"Oh don't get me wrong, I am in some perspective a polite gentleman. But before coming to Hogwarts and even before I met my best friend, I was a bad influence. I was the type of guy any parents would murder if their daughter was caught dating me."

"How come you think that," Hermione asked confusedly.

"I don't really think that, I know that. The stuff I did in my past, it still haunts me. I will always carry the burden of knowing that there could have been innocent people in that school."

"What exactly happened?" Hermione was cautious because she could feel Jayden putting up his barriers.

"Just...promise you won't runaway?"

"I promise."

By now, the two strangers were sitting on the Quidditch Field just staring at the stars. Jayden took a handful of grass and started to rip the pieces in half. _He was nervous. _

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. It really isn't any of my business."

"No! It's fine, I'm not one to be secretive anyway and I am an open book. I'm just formulating a way to tell you. I want you to be able to understand where I'm coming from." Hermione smiled at him telling him _it's okay, I won't judge you. _

"My parents abandoned me when I was eight. We were going through financial problems and they just couldn't handle taking care of a child. I never actually knew the real reason they left because they just left without saying goodbye. We were living in New York so I had to learn to fend for myself."

Hermione gently grabbed hold of Jayden's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze; simply stating _I'm so sorry._

"I grew up as a misunderstood criminal. I vandalized, did theft, and got into fights constantly. Every day I would wake up and say to myself why are you doing this. But I just couldn't stop myself. I wanted to hurt people because I was hurting so much inside; I wanted to make people feel how hurt I was feeling. Then one day, I hit my breaking point. I was doing an ordinary vandalization of my high school when I started to reminisce about my childhood, I was thinking about how my parents abandoned me and how kids would always tease me and ask _hey where's your parents? Did they leave you? _ I was angry so I lit a match and threw it into an open window, setting the school on fire." Hermione was shell shocked, to say the least.

"I knew I shouldn't have told you, you must think I'm a lunatic!" Jayden released his hand from Hermione's grasp but Hermione tugged on his shirt telling him not to leave. They stared into each other's eyes and like magnets gravitating towards each other; he sat back down and held on to her hand.

"After that, I told the officials it was me and I was sent to a reform school on some uncharted island in the middle of nowhere. That's where I met my best friend." Hermione could see the smile creeping onto Jayden's face as he talked about his best friend.

"That's an unexpected twist," Hermione giggled and smiled at Jayden. Jayden looked at her with confusion.

"Wait, so you don't think I'm a horrible person for doing that? There could have been innocent people in the school! I could have been a murderer!"

"You said it yourself Jayden, you were a misunderstood criminal. If you did those crimes for no apparent reason, then yes I would be worried but you did it because you were hurting. I would never be able to understand how much pain you went through, but I promise to always be here for you; if you ever need a friend, I'm always here. I don't want you to feel like you're alone in world." Silent tears were leaking out of Hermione's eyes. She looked at Jayden and they shared a tearful smile.

"Thank you for understanding me." Jayden squeezed her hand gently and helped her onto her feet.

"We better get inside, it's half past midnight."

"Oh my, have we been really talking that long?" Hermione laughed.

"I guess so."

They silently walked through the empty corridor; no words could describe what had taken place on the Quidditch Field that night. After a brief amount of minutes, they finally arrived in Hermione's destination, Gryffindor Tower.

"Thank you for breaking down your barriers and showing me the real you; I have to admit, you are quite the distraction mister Nightingale." Hermione radiantly smiled at him.

"And thank you for being my friend." Jayden placed a chaste kiss onto Hermione's cheek and waved goodbye.

As Hermione walked into the portrait hole, she placed her hand on the warm spot that was occupied by Jayden's lips and thought to herself, _wow. _


End file.
